Railroad Forums 

  • CNZR - Armory Branch

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England

Moderators: MEC407, NHN503

 #1343975  by NHV 669
 
FLRailFan1 wrote:Why do you say this? I think you might see thru trains sooner on the Armory...
Good luck getting "thru" this.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sprin ... bd!6m1!1e1

not to mention the spots between the state line and I'd guess quite a few miles south of this spot, the ROW is hardly even existent, let alone in a condition to be buildable and train ready.
 #1344050  by YamaOfParadise
 
In Springfield, the parts of the RoW that were sold off are definitely a problem, but there hasn't been any heavy construction on them insofar; they are all open areas still, and as such aren't nearly as much of a problem from a construction standpoint to rebuilding the Armory Branch. The RoW south of there, but north of the trail just needs brush/tree clearing and regrading, and also reclaiming some parking lots; though there are some problematic grade crossings that'd have to be installed. There's nothing particularly challenging about rebuilding the rest of the Armory Branch out of its current condition from a construction perspective, asides from the aforementioned grade crossings.

The real problem is political will; it is something that MassDOT has to be involved in, and as discussed before, they just don't care much about RoW preservation, nor helping freight operations like CTDOT does. There's just no way something like this can happen without a strong political force from both the private industry and the state, as the locals would certainly protest, especially since you have to reclaim some since-developed land.
 #1344080  by Stp243
 
Not to forget that the bridge that used to carry North Main St (MA Route 83) over the tracks in East Longmeadow is GONE. The bridge was taken down probably 10-15 years ago and the road was leveled off over the right of way and is now about 10ft above track grade. This is probably the biggest physical barrier to this project ever happening since you would have to either build a new bridge, build a new grade out north and south on the railroad from North Main to meet the road at grade or scrape the road down to track level. Good luck getting any of that done.

While I would love to see trains cruising through that side of Springfield again I can't think itll actually happen. I'm not even sure how the City of Springfield would feel about a decent length freight train cutting neighborhoods in half while it is passing thru town. I'm speaking in particular of the stretch from Springfield College to Bay St. where there are 6 grade crossings and 3 major roads (Boston Rd, Wilbraham Rd and Bay St) that would be problematic if they were blocked for a significant amount of time.

I really think this would be an up hill battle to get done. From a railfans point of view it would be cool to see, but from a real world perspective it will probably never happen.
 #1344090  by QB 52.32
 
Not only are the costs high, but the benefits/likely benefits don't rise to as near a level necessary to make this justifiable, even in the public arena. Certainly not for four daily freight trains which could be run at night. Most unlikely for a CSX doublestack route into Hartford given the relatively low volume and costs to peel away traffic from their tried-and-true West Springfield hub terminal. And, next to impossible for an NS doublestack route into Hartford unless rights could be secured from CSX to use their Boston Line from CP98 to a re-established Armory branch connection. Of the three possible benefits this last one has the most intrigue for an idea like this, but it's very unlikely those rights exist today or that CSX would willingly cooperate to give their head-to-head competitor access. Then, too, in the larger overall picture, lower-value economic activities like distribution will shift away from this area to eastern or western CT, or, out of the state altogether.
 #1379261  by LReyomeXX
 
When the weather gets warmer I will take a bus ride to confirm this, but there has been some work on one of the former road crossings just down the road from me. I have seen heavy equipment there in the past year but never knew what it was for. My social worker reminded me about this the other day.
 #1384292  by LReyomeXX
 
Stp243 wrote: Not to forget that the bridge that used to carry North Main St (MA Route 83) over the tracks in East Longmeadow is GONE. The bridge was taken down probably 10-15 years ago and the road was leveled off over the right of way and is now about 10ft above track grade. This is probably the biggest physical barrier to this project ever happening since you would have to either build a new bridge, build a new grade out north and south on the railroad from North Main to meet the road at grade or scrape the road down to track level. Good luck getting any of that done.

While I would love to see trains cruising through that side of Springfield again I can't think itll actually happen. I'm not even sure how the City of Springfield would feel about a decent length freight train cutting neighborhoods in half while it is passing thru town. I'm speaking in particular of the stretch from Springfield College to Bay St. where there are 6 grade crossings and 3 major roads (Boston Rd, Wilbraham Rd and Bay St) that would be problematic if they were blocked for a significant amount of time.

I really think this would be an up hill battle to get done. From a railfans point of view it would be cool to see, but from a real world perspective it will probably never happen.
Also the crossing light gantries over Sumner Avenue and State Street/Wilberham Road were taken down circa 2006, the Allen Street crossing was completely eliminated during reconstruction of that intersection, and the June 2011 tornado took out the ground area near the Watershops bridge.
whatelyrailfan wrote: Where are you located, please?
Peace,
Jonathan
The equipment was located at the former Bay Street crossing, I live over on Page Blvd, the other side of 291
 #1392901  by LReyomeXX
 
whatelyrailfan wrote: This was the situation a few years ago, the only thing that's really changed is the construction of the bike path on the ROW in Mass. And apparently A.J. and crew have finished the ballast ramp north of State 140, so hopefully the crossing at Enfield Transit Mix will be done by next year at the latest.
Peace,
Jonathan
Sadly, Google Maps is not a help because they refuse to post any street level snapshots newer then 2012 in that area. Also possibly of interest Central New England Railroad - CT.gov (pages 10, 13, and 15)
 #1399224  by Larry
 
Spoke to CNZR crew the last few days and they still say the crossing located of rte 191 where the cement factory is will go in at some point this year. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, they are working the crossing at Wintonbury Ave in Bloomfield, they replaced the whole crossing, took out second track completely and will stub end the southern portion. The northern track and switch was completely removed. The crossing that went in is awesome to say the least. AMTRAK should use this design as it is not going anywhere fast and will last forever it looks like. They are doing one great job at this site. Gates and Lights are still to come at some point they said by another contractor. CNZR is still updating the Griffin line with newer ties and the rail that was dropped last year. As always, they are doing a terrific job and I can't wait to see it when it is done.
 #1400527  by F-line to Dudley via Park
 
They might be an indirect beneficiary of the G&W purchase of P&W. If P&W gains access to Hartford Yard for direct equipment swaps with CSOR, Hartford gets access to a lot more equipment that otherwise has to make an expensive trip on PAR to get passed down from NECR. CNZR might be able to glom off of CSOR's newfound easy swaps with some track equipment lend-lease of its own. In addition to their home work fleet and the pooled G&W work fleet with NECR, P&W can easily get loaned equipment in Worcester from CSX, PAR, the MBTA, and Amtrak. Now that CSOR has greater access to maint equipment, CNZR has opportunities to glom onto some of that lend-lease whenever CSOR's got work equipment on-rotation out of Worcester. Small potatoes in the grander scheme...but for a small-potatoes railroad it makes a difference to have +1 easier shot at getting loaned a tamper or tie-changer to assist with all this incremental track work on the Armory and Griffins.
 #1407425  by Larry
 
Wintonbury ST crossing is looking really good in Bloomfield CT, needs to be wired up though for crossing gates, which I am hoping that will happen before years end. Heading South towards Hartford, ties being placed down so the CWR can be laid down. They are working this leg of the line for the next few weeks I presume, between Cottage grove and Wintonbury ST. This still has some original rail from 1890's that has to be replaced. Can't wait till it is done.
 #1407931  by Lincoln78
 
I pass the CNZR-CSOR interchange site off Sullivan Ave in South Windsor normally once a week on Saturday. Last week I was happy to see two hoppers for the first time in a while.
 #1430271  by Jedijk88
 
Reflective Recycling of New England in South Windsor looks to be rail served from the Armory Branch. Does the CNZR switch this facility ?
 #1432617  by bwparker1
 
Jedijk88 wrote:Reflective Recycling of New England in South Windsor looks to be rail served from the Armory Branch. Does the CNZR switch this facility ?
No, that is the last customer switched by the CSOR I believe. Also, the facility was sold to Strategic Materials within the past year or two, so it is no longer Reflective Recycling.
 #1450218  by Tpochron33
 
Does anyone have any updates on the status of the branch......pass through alot but seems to be no movement on the line......
  • 1
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13